John McCalla family papers, 1754-1917 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
McCalla family
Abstract:
John Moore McCalla was a militia officer and civil servant, of Lexington, Ky., and Washington, D.C. Collection contains correspondence, receipt books, scrapbooks, family cookbook, and other papers, relating to Civil War politics; local Kentucky politics (1820-1870); the Mexican War; presidential politics, especially Polk's election (1844) and the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln; the American Colonization Society; American Party; and the family's opposition to Henry Clay. Includes a journal of John Moore McCalla, Jr., describing a journey to Liberia in 1860 and his activities in Washington in 1861. Also contains letters from former McCalla slaves in Liberia, and letters of John M. McCalla, Sr.'s father, Dr. Andrew J. McCalla, including several discussing the treatment of the insane and the Eastern Lunatic Asylum in Lexington, Ky. Includes records of James M. Varnum and Joseph M. Varnum's estates, inherited through Helen Varnum Hill McCalla. Also contains family papers including letter books, notes, finances, and miscellany.
Extent:
9 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11185

Background

Scope and content:

The John M. McCalla Family Papers contain correspondence, personal, business, political, financial, military, and legal items, pamphlets, journals, letter books, ledgers, newspaper clippings, various volumes, and a family cook book.

Papers of John Moore McCalla (b. 1793), lawyer, politician, brigadier general of the Kentucky militia, and the second auditor of the United States constitute the bulk of this collection. The papers cover important historical events such as the War of 1812; several presidential elections, including Jackson, Polk, and Lincoln; The Mexican War; the annexation of Texas and Oregon; and the rise of the American Party. Letters dating from the Civil War period include discussions of McCalla Jr.'s work with the Quartermaster General and the Surgeon General's offices; Seminary Military Hospital in Georgetown; the ongoing military campaigns; and McCalla Sr.'s pro-South sympathies.

Volumes included cover several subject areas: financial and estate accounts, weather reports, an index to cases in Congress in the 1850s, and an accounting of property rental and construction; a pamphlet, 1839, with an address given at the fiftieth anniversary of the Lexington Light Infantry; a journal, 1860-1861, of Dr. John M. McCalla, Jr., written while he was an agent for the U. S. government in the return of slaves captured from a slaver, describing his journey to Liberia, the political and social conditions there, and life in Washington, D.C., in 1861; ledgers to the estates left to Helen Varnum (Hill) McCalla (including estates from James M. Varnum, Joseph B. Varnum, and Silas N. Hill); and a book listing gifts received by the family from the 1890s.

Family papers include journals and notes from various McCalla women, including Helen Louise Sargent; documentation of travel, family relationships, and estate business; clippings, including reports of political disputes in Kentucky; and other miscellaneous items.

Biographical / historical:

John Moore McCalla was a lawyer, Democratic politician, brigadier general of Kentucky militia, and second auditor of the United States. He was the son of Dr. Andrew J. and Martha (More) McCalla. John McCalla married Maria Frances Hogg and had three sons, Dr. John M. McCalla, Jr.; Andrew J. McCalla; and Thomas McCalla. Dr. John M. McCalla, Jr. married Helen Varnum Hill and they had a daughter names Isabel Hill McCalla. Isabel married Edmond Lee Goldsborough and had three children: Edmond Lee, John McCalla, and Helen Louisa.

McCalla attended Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. He joined the Lexington Light Artillery Co. in 1812 and found himself part of the Fifth Regiment of Kentucky Volunteer Militia. The Kentucky troops were sent to the relief of besieged Frenchtown on River Raisin, Michigan, where they underwent massacre and imprisonment when General James Winchester surrendered on Jan. 22, 1813.

After his military career, McCalla Sr. became interested in many different areas. He had political ambitions along with studying law. He became the U.S. Marshal of Kentucky, and on March 31, 1845 was appointed second auditor of the U. S. Treasury under James Polk's administration. His term lasted until 1849, at which time he focused on his law practice. McCalla was an ardent Democrat and was welcomed to the American Party in 1854. He was a political opponent of Henry Clay and a supporter of Andrew Jackson. Following the war he supported Andrew Johnson.

Dr. John McCalla Jr. worked as a clerk and physician during the Civil War. He also traveled to Liberia as part of the American Colonization Society in 1860.

Acquisition information:
The John McCalla family papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in accessions between 1960 and 1966.
Processing information:

Processed by Keelia McCaffrey, April 2016

Arrangement:

Arranged into series: Correspondence, Financial Papers, Militia and Legal Papers, and Personal Papers.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John McCalla Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.